Floodwaters
by IrishAnnie71
Summary: Completely Rewritten August 2019. Part 6 in The Fair Maiden Series. Impure waters pervade the ground, draining the fortitude of the kinship, Revelations must be made before floodwaters converge.


Author Notes

It's been on my mind for years to rewrite all my old First Wave fic so I have eventually gotten around to it.

Summary; Part 6 of The Fair Maiden Series in which journalist Elizabeth Baker helps Cade and Eddie to expose the alien conspiracy.

Cade and Liz investigate the contamination of a town's water supply

Disclaimer: - First Wave Title and Characters are the property of First Wave Productions and Pearson TV. Cade Foster, Crazy Eddie, the Gua and other references are the property of Chris Brancato, Larry Sugar and Francis Ford Coppola. Liz Baker and other characters as well as the plot belong to me and will not be used without my permission. (February 2001 - rewritten August 2019).

The hot sun beat down from the blue cloudless summer sky. The heat was unrelenting. A heatwave had been forecast to last for several days. The only relief was to either remain in air conditioned buildings or to go swimming.

Penny waited for her friend to come downstairs from her bedroom. "Do you want to go for a swim at the pond?"

"It's too hot for anything else, " replied her friend Ashley. She grabbed her swimming gear and the two girls set off down the street to the nearby pond. They chatted and giggled all the way not noticing the dead birds that lay on the ground. They became aware of an overwhelming smell as they got closer to the water.

"Ugh, what 's that smell," Ashley said wrinkling her nose.

"Smells like Bobby ," replied Penny putting her hand over her mouth.

The two girls turned the corner and stood still in shock at the sight in front of them. "Oh my God!

Before them the pond had turned an almost white colour. Slimy bubbles popped at the surface which seemed to be releasing the odour. The vegetation around the lake had turned brown and had died while fish and frogs lay floating on top of the water.

They looked at each other and backed out towards the bushes. "We need to tell someone about this," Penny said as they both left the pond and made their way back into town.

_The town of Clear Lake in Kentucky has been devastated by pollution of an unknown source. This bore a similarity to Quatrain 45, Century 6._

_Impure waters pervade the ground, draining the fortitude of the kinship, Revelations must be made before floodwaters converge_

_The town was enjoying an Indian summer until the water supply became contaminated. Now the town may have to evacuate, as the summer storms will be rolling in soon which could literally ruin a once prosperous town. What do the Aliens have to do with this? I am going to get to the bottom of this by passing myself off as an inspector from the Environmental Health Authority._

Cade drove through the deserted main street of Clear Lake, Kentucky. The weather forecaster on the radio droned on about peak sun conditions and the humidity index which he was all too familiar with. The air conditioner in his rented car had packed in and all he wanted to do was book into the local motel to have a shower. His white t -shirt was stained with sweat. He pulled into the parking lot of the motel on the main street and took note of the lack of cars and people around. From what Eddie had told him this town used to bring in tourists by the dozen because of the natural mineral baths. Several store fronts were blocked up and others had big red closing down sales signs taped to their windows. He got out of the car and headed towards the reception.

"Hi, I'm Mike Harper from the Environmental Health Authority. I am investigating the pollution incident," Cade said showing his ID to the receptionist.

She barely looked at his card . "I can't tell you anything."

"Actually I was hoping you had a room available," he smiled at her.

"We have many rooms available. As soon as the news came out about the contamination they all left." She stood up and picked a key from the cabinet behind her. "Here you are. Room 16. It is up the stairs and it's the second door on the right. We have our own supply of water which is not polluted."

"Thanks, " replied Cade taking the key from her. When he got to his room he pulled out a towel, a clean T-shirt and a pair of jeans from his duffel bag which he left near the door purely out of habit. You never know when you had to get out of a place quickly. When he was ready and freshened up he left his room and asked the receptionist where he could get something to eat. She directed him to the bar across the street. It was one of the few businesses still open she told him.

He scanned the area as he stood on the sidewalk. Hearing loud music he turned to see a car turning into the parking lot. He saw Liz waving at him from inside the car and he walked back to where she parked.

"Hey," he said as she got out of the car.

"Hi, " she smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"Jack sent me down to cover the story," she replied.

"Jack sent you or you told him you were coming?" he asked with a smirk as he helped her with her bags.

"Actually...It was a mutual decision," she grinned.

"I bet it was, " he laughed.

"You think this is a Gua experiment?"

"There's a quatrain..." Cade didn't have to say any more as she nodded in understanding.

""What are the parameters of the experiment?" asked Liz.

"Dunno. That's what we have to find out. Book in to the motel and we can get started," he replied as they walked towards the motel.

They arrived at the pond about 30 minutes later. There were yellow signs warning people not to enter the water because of the contamination.

"This is worse than Drewham, " Liz exclaimed as they both stood by the edge of the pond. It was still bubbling and they covered their faces with masks. Flies buzzed around the barren landscape. One thing she did notice was the absence of birdsong.

"That's the story you won the award for? " Cade asked.

"Yeah. At that time we discovered that the local electricity generation company were polluting the water supply," Liz said putting her hand on her hip and fanned herself with her straw hat. The heat was even more unbearable by the pond.

"Eddie did some research and found that there were no major companies in the area that would cause contamination of this kind of scale," said Cade putting on a pair of latex gloves. He then took out some bottles and took some samples of the water. Liz swatted away flies as she walked around the pond. She came across a number of dead frogs on the bank.

"Cade, over here," she called.

He went over and picked up one of the frogs placing it in a plastic bag. He then put all the samples in a tin that Eddie had given him.

"Let's get these samples back to Eddie and see what he says."

As they left the area they didn't notice two men were watching them from the other side of the pond.

"Find out who they are and deal with them," one of the men said.

\\\\\/

"I can get a local lab to run tests on these samples," he said to Cade and Liz. He had parked the Airstream about 5 miles outside the town limits

"Great," replied Cade.

Liz was looking around the trailer and noticed the pile of dishes in the small sink. "Don't you two do any cleaning up in here?"

"How come every time you come here you start harassing me?" asked Eddie rolling his eyes.

"No I don't!" laughed Liz. She stepped back from the sink and stood on something on the floor. She stooped down and picked a silver earring up. "Hey that's one of mine. Where did you get it?"

"I found it on the floor a while ago. I think the clasp is broken, " replied Eddie ignoring the look he got from Cade.

"I've been looking for it everywhere. I got it as a gift," Liz said as she examined the back of the earring.

"From Rick?" asked Eddie.

"His name is Nick," replied Liz. "You know if you wanted to borrow my earrings all you have to is ask! "

"Really?" Eddie looked really excited at this idea.

"Shut up both of you. Did you find out about any companies in the area that could cause that kind of pollution on such a grand scale?" asked Cade wanting to get down to business. He sat down on the couch beside the computer.

"There are no companies that are open that would do that kind of damage but there was a factory that closed down several years ago. The owner was prosecuted for violating pollution laws. He still lives in the area," Eddie said pulling up a profile.

"What's his name?" asked Cade.

"Frank Novak. After he was prosecuted he closed down the factory. He became bankrupt. Turned to alcohol. In the last 5 or 6 months he was able to pay off his debts and the factory came under new ownership but it hasn't opened yet," explained Eddie.

"So someone must have paid him off to get control of the factory," surmised Liz.

"Yeah. The Gua usually use abandoned warehouses to carry out their work," said Cade.

"So what about this Frank Novak?" asked Liz.

"Well I heard he had a thing for blondes," replied Eddie looking at Cade who shrugged his shoulders.

Liz glanced at then and shook her head. "Oh no! No way. The last time I did you guys a favour I... "

"Come on Liz. Eddie will have you wired up. If you feel you can't handle it just get out of there," Cade said raising his eyebrows.

"All you have to wear is something low cut and short with a smile!" laughed Eddie.

She looked between both men and let out a long sigh.

\\\\\/

Liz entered the dimly lit bar. Loud music blared from a jukebox out the back and she noticed a game of pool being played in the corner. Heads turned as she walked over to the bar and sat down. She was wearing a white off the shoulder top with two thin straps which crossed at the top. The neckline plunged which showed off the right amount of cleavage. A black leather mini skirt and knee high boots completed her look. Her long blonde curly hair was brought to one side.

"What can I get you miss?" asked the barman.

"I'll have a Marguerita," Liz smiled as she spoke in her best southern accent. She glanced round the bar to see if she could see Novak. She noticed him sitting on the opposite side of the bar watching her and gave him a little smile and a wave. He picked up his beer and came over to her.

Liz's stomach recoiled when he sat down beside her as the smell of his lack of personal hygiene as well as the stench of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke was disgusting. He was unshaven, balding in his mid 40's with a paunch.

"I have been watching you since you came in," he said.

"_That's an original line," thought Liz_. She smiled again at the man.. "Have you?"

"You are a beautiful and extremely sexy girl," he said to her. "Woman, I should say. What's your name?"

"Lola," replied Liz

Cade and Eddie sat in the Caddy listening to the conversation.

"_You are in fine shape for a man of your maturity. You must work out a lot._" they heard Liz say.

"She probably uses that line on every man she meets," joked Eddie to Cade who ignored him.

So what do you do?" asked Liz leaning into him so he could get a view of her cleavage.

"A bit of this and a bit of that," replied Novak. "Would you care for another drink?"

"Sure," replied Liz.

"Same again, Bob," Novak said to the bartender who poured out the drinks.

"Would you excuse me for a minute?" he asked and went off in the direction of the bathroom. While he was gone Liz took the opportunity to pour a clear liquid into his beer. It was a strong sedative that made the beer fizzle up for a second but then settle down.

"Mission accomplished," she said indicating to Cade and Eddie that she had followed their instructions.

"Give her five more minutes," Eddie said to Cade.

Novak came back to the bar and took a swig from his beer. He leered at Liz through bleary eyes. "Would you care to dance?"

"It's not really my scene," she replied almost holding her breath as she waited for the drug to take effect.

"Come on," he said taking her arm as he stood up. He stumbled a little as he got to his feet.

"Is there anything wrong?" asked Liz.

"I feel like I am going to throw up!" replied Novak whose complexion had turned grey.

"Maybe you should get some fresh air," said Liz taking him by the arm and bringing him outside. She brought him around the side of the building where Cade and Eddie hid as he collapsed on the ground.

"That was so much hard work," sighed Liz pushing her hair out of her face as they half-dragged Novak into the back seat of the Caddy.

"See you back at the trailer," Liz replied getting into her own car and driving off.

Novak regained consciousness a short while later. Cade and Eddie had him tied up in the office chair in the trailer. There was one light turned on over his head. Cade sat just out of the lights reach creating an ominous shadow.

"What the hell is going on here?" Novak demanded when he was fully alert.

"We need some answers and you are the perfect person to tell us," replied Cade pointing his gun at their prisoner.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Novak.

"That's not important," answered Cade "What is important, however, is that you answer our questions."

"The hell I will," replied Novak trying to by break free of his binds?.

Cade released the safety in his gun and brought it up to other s forehead. He hated doing things like that. If someone had told him five years ago that he would be a fugitive from the law after being accused of murdering his wife and that he was the only one that could save the planet from an alien invasion he would have thought them mad. But the Gua made him the person he was today and if that meant threatening a fellow human to get information it needed to be done.

"Hell may be where you will end up if you don't co-operate," Cade said in a lowered tone that always sounded ominous to those around him.

"All right, all right. What do you want?"

"Who did you sell your company to?" asked Cade.

"What do you want to know that for?" asked Novak.

"I'm investigating the pollution spill in the town and we think it may be coming from the factory. So who did you sell it to?" Cade asked again.

"What makes you think it is the factory that's causing the pollution?" asked Novak.

"We think the group that bought the factory want to cause economic and environmental problems for their own purpose. To create destruction to lower people's resolve," replied Cade.

"For what purpose?" sneered Novak

"Just answer the question. Who did you sell the factory to?" ordered Cade bringing the gun to the height of his forehead again.

"You wouldn't dare," retorted Novak.

"Don't test me!"

Novak knew that he would not be able to get out of this mess so he decided to answer the question.

"I sold the factory to an organisation called the Swain Group. They offered $15 million for it. $5 million in cash up front. I couldn't refuse an offer like that,"

"Who's in charge?" asked Cade.

"I don't know. I never met any of the representatives. They made me an offer without even seeing the property through email. They even transferred money into an offshore account before I even said yes to the deal," explained Novak.

Do you have any documents to prove this?" asked Cade.

"No. They said they did not want the deal on paper," answered Novak.

Cade and Eddie blindfolded him before driving him to the forest warning him not to breathe a word of what happened to anyone.

Eddie started a background check on the Swain Group and discovered that it was a fabricated organisation but had accounts in The Cayman Islands. Cade decided it was time to investigate the factory but couldn't get in through the front door. It was time to create another diversion.

\\\\\/

She drove up the small dirt road which led to the factory. A wire fence ran alongside the road with signs warning people that they were trespassing and would be prosecuted. The terrain was bleak and desolate with rocks and small hills dotting the landscape. Any vegetation had turned died due to the lack of rain. A dried up river bed could be seen beyond the fence.

Liz pulled up beside a small security hut outside the big iron gates of the property.

A guard came out and examined the car. "Sorry Ma'am. This area is off 't you see the signs? "

"Oh I'm sorry. It was such a nice drive. I didn't see them," she said smiling as she got out of the car. She was wearing a red shirt with the buttons open, so she showed just the right amount of cleavage, and tight blue jeans. "I think I'm lost. I was on my way into town".

"Just drive back down this road, take the right turn and follow the signs."

"Oh it was as simple as that. Also I've been having some engine trouble. Could you find out what is wrong?" Liz replied as she opened up the hood of the car and peered in leaving the guard with a view of her rear. The guard let out a sigh but moved closer to the tinkered about with some parts as Liz stood beside the opened hood with her arm outstretched holding up the bonnet. Slamming the hood down on his head he dropped to the ground. Cade came out of his hiding place and they both noticed a wound on his forehead self healing. Cade grabbed his gun and pulled the trigger just as the guard started to regain consciousness and he dissolved into a phosphorescent puddle.

"Good work Liz," Cade said turning to her.

"What's the plan now?" she asked.

"Check over the factory," replied Cade. "Are you coming?"

"You're asking me?" Liz was surprised, as he usually said no if she asked to go with him.

"Put it this way. If I did say no, you would probably find your own way in and end up in some sort of trouble," Cade said rolling his eyes.

"No I don't! " exclaimed Liz feeling a bit indignant. "Usually I end up saving your life!"

"I think you might find that's the other way around Liz, " he chuckled as he gathered up his Blackhawks bag and surveyed the area. "Eddie hacked into the mainframe of the County's database and got blueprints of the area." Cade said to Liz pulling a large rolled up sheet of paper out of his bag and spread it on the hood of the car. "There seems to be an underground outlet that runs from one of the smaller buildings to an underground streambed which discharges into the pond. The Gua are releasing the contamination that way." He pointed to a section on the blueprints.

"Any idea what the contamination is?" asked Liz.

"Eddie is still waiting for the lab results," Cade said.

Suddenly Cade's cell phone rang as if Eddie knew what they were talking about.

"Foster, I got the results of the sample back. The contamination is caused by some kind of toxin that turns to liquid when it comes in contact with water."

"What is it for?" asked Cade.

"Basically it's a... " Eddie started to say but knowing that his partner had no patience when it came to long-winded explanations said instead "It's used in making pesticides. It was banned from use about ten years ago, as it was extremely hazardous. Be careful if you come in contact with the non-diluted solution. It can cause death."

"Great," replied Cade hanging up the phone oblivious as ever to the swearing on the other end by Eddie.

"So what did he say?" asked Liz.

Cade looked at her and immediately regretted letting her come with him but he knew that she wouldn't leave even if he ordered her to.

"It's some kind of chemical used for making pesticides. It's very dangerous. Could cause death," he said.

"Sounds delightful!" responded Liz.

"Come on lets shut down this experiment!" replied Cade. He pulled two gas masks out of his bag and handed one to her. "Here. We're gonna need it."

They ran to a building that looked like a small outhouse. According to the blueprints this was the building which had the underwater outlet. Cade examined the lock on the door and unpicked it.

He turned on his flashlight and pointed it around the room. There were various pieces of computer equipment covered over by dust blankets. He saw a door at one end of the room and walked towards it. A sign on the door said "No Unauthorised Entry." This was like a "We're open" sign to the alien hunter who tried the door and found it locked. He picked the lock and they entered the small room. A small manhole lay on the ground to one side of the door. Cade stooped down and examined the edges. He grunted as he tried to pull it up himself but couldn't.

"Liz, will you give me a hand here," he asked.

She grabbed the other side of the manhole and with a lot of effort they got it open and pulled it one side.

"Dammit!" exclaimed Liz.

"What?" asked Cade.

"I broke a nail."

"I think this is a lot more important than a broken fingernail, Liz," replied Cade seriously.

He helped her climb down the steps of the manhole before he climbed himself. He shone his flashlight around. The light hit off the walls which were all slimy and also frightened away some rats who scurried away. A metal pipeline ran the length of the tunnel.

"Ugh" exclaimed Liz covering her mouth and nose at the overwhelming stench in the tunnel. "It's rotten in here." She placed the gas mask on over her head.

Cade did the same and the two proceeded down the passageway. They got no more than 500 yards when it split into two sections.

"Which way now?" asked Liz.

"Well the main building is in this direction. I reckon we should head that way," Cade said pointing to the other passageway.

"Are you sure?" asked Liz.

"No," replied Cade.

"What do the blueprints show?" she asked.

"They don't have this tunnel marked down on them," replied Cade.

"Where do you think they lead to?" asked Liz.

"No idea. Come on lets try this way," Cade said heading off through the other passageway.

Liz followed behind him as she didn't want to be left behind. She clung on to the end of his leather jacket as the ground was very slippy and the tunnel was getting very narrow. They came to another metal ladder.

"I wonder where that goes to," wondered Liz.

"Only one way to find out," Cade said. "Ladies first"

He helped Liz up the ladder and then went up himself. Liz pushed aside the metal lid and climbed out .

They found themselves in a large room. There were three large tanks in the room about 6 foot high. Cade examined the outside of the tanks. Each tank had a pressure gauge and hose with a dial marked with numbers from 1 - 5 and the needle was pointed between 2 and 3. There was a metal pipeline that ran from tank to tanks and then disappeared into the ground. There was a small ladder that went to the top of each tank. The noise in the room was deafening.

"What are they doing?" she shouted to make herself heard.

"This must be how they are releasing the contamination into the water supply. This is the same kind of pipeline we saw in the underground outlet," replied Cade examining the pipeline.

He wanted to see what was in the tank so he climbed the ladder. The metal ladder was rusted so he gingerly tested it with his foot before he put his full weight on it. When he got to the top he noticed that a clear covering covered the tanks. He looked into the tank and saw that some of it was beginning to fill up with the whitish liquid that contaminated the lake.

"What is it?" shouted Liz up at him.

He climbed down the ladder again but he was halfway down when one of the metal rungs buckled and the bottom part of the ladder broke. He was literally hanging onto the rung above.

"Cade jump!" shouted Liz.

He looked down but It was too high to jump.

The rung he was hanging out of started to bend. Liz looked around to see what he could land on if he were to jump. She saw some plastic sheeting over the other side of room

"Hang on Cade," she shouted as she ran over to get the sheeting.

""Hang on" What the hell does she think I'm doing?" he muttered as he clung onto the ladder.

She dragged the sheeting over to the tank and placed it under the ladder. "You're gonna have to let yourself fall because if don't you won't be able to manage the landing. "

Cade looked down again and started to feel light-headed. "I hate heights, " he muttered to himself.

"Go on!" Liz shouted again.

He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to himself. He then took a deep breath and let go of the rung. He let out a long shout as he fell into the plastic sheeting. Liz ran over and helped him up.

"Are you ok?" asked Liz

Cade groaned as he tried to stand up "Yeah."

"Well, what do you know. I saved your life. What was it you said - I would end up in some sort of trouble?" taunted Liz.

"We're not finished yet," Cade replied as he rubbed his bruised ribs. He glanced across to the other side of the room and noticed a large window with computers behind it. "That must be the control room. Come on!"

They made their way to the control room and took note of the computer and a large dashboard type of equipment. There were numerous dials and pressure readings which Cade presumed correlated with the tanks outside.

Liz pressed the on button for the computer and waited for it to boot up. "Might get something useful of this."

Cade nodded but noticed the door opening at the back of the room. "Get down," he said as they both crouched down behind the computer. He peeked over the table and saw two men making their way around the tanks. He signaled to Liz that there was two men. She let out a sigh and crawled over to him.

They watched as they examined the pressure gauge on one of of the tanks. They couldn't hear what they were saying as the noise in the tank room was so loud.

"What are we going to do?" Liz whispered as they watched the men take notes and adjust some dials on the tank.

"I don't know," replied Cade noticing that they had seen the broken ladder and plastic sheeting under it. They immediately drew their guns and began to search the room. "But we're busted."

"Better do something quick because they'll be here soon!" Liz said feeling her heart beating rapidly.

Cade scanned the room quickly and saw a hose hanging on the wall near one of the tanks. He noticed that it was attached to a pressure gauge that ran along the ceiling and in through the control room. He pressed one of the button on the console and pulled one of the levers down.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked keeping an eye out for the two men who where approaching the control room.

"Creating a diversion. Hope this works," Cade said with a grunt as he pulled down another lever. They heard bubbling sounds coming from the tank room. They both watched the pressure gauge on the console begin to fluctuate wildly. The two men glanced at each other and ran to the tank. They frantically started pressing buttons while gesticulating at each other.

"We better go," Cade said grabbing Liz's arm and they quietly climbed down the steps of the control room and ran to hide behind the nearest tank. One of the men saw them and ran around to the other side blocking their exit. The other man continued to work on the control buttons. "Move," the man said pointing his gun at them.

"Great diversion Cade! " Liz said rolling her eyes with a note of sarcasm in her voice.

"That was a great diversion, " Cade said with a smirk.

The bubbling sound continued but then all of a sudden the tanks began to shudder and then stopped. The silence seemed unusual after the deafening silence.

"So who do we have here? "The other man said in once he was satisfied that the tank was saf I'm ant in the Second Wave to destroy the water supply in most towns and cities across the Globe."

"That doesn't seem to be conducive to the Gua in the Aftertime," replied Cade in disgust.

"The overall experiment will be. Now shut up and move," replied the younger man.

As Liz and Cade walked in front of the them she spotted a metal chain lying on the floor in front of her. She quickly bent down to grab it and swung it around with a loud grunt. It caught them off guard and they fell to the ground. Cade grabbed one of them by the collar and repeatedly punched him. Liz grabbed the chain again and swung it down on top of the other man. He rolled out of the way and knocked her to the ground but she grabbed one of the guns and pulled the trigger. She watched as the man dissolved.

Cade was struggling with the other alien who had him in a chokehold. He was gasping for breath as Liz picked up the chain again and it down on the alien who fell backwards. Liz pulled the trigger of the gun and shot him through the heart and he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Oh look I saved your life again," Liz grinned as Cade tried to get his breath back.

"Thanks," replied Cade rubbing his throat as she helped him to his feet.

/\\\\\

"At least the contamination was contained and did not seep into the water supply to pollute the neighbouring water supplies," Eddie said to Cade and Liz as the rain pounded down on the trailer.

"The Gua were counting on the summer storms for that to happen," Cade replied.

"What's going to happen to the town?" asked Eddie.

"They have mounted a massive operation to restore the water supply. The cost may go into the millions," replied Liz. She had just finished her article about the contamination and was sending it to the newspaper.

"What if they are not able to do it?" asked Eddie.

"They'll have to abandon the town," replied Liz.

"So even though we've stopped the experiment the town may still have to evacuate!" exclaimed Cade in disgust.

"Maybe the Gua planned it that way all along," Eddie said. Cade and Liz looked at him and silently agreed with him.

_We may have stopped the experiment but the consequences will be felt in Clear Lake, Kentucky for years to come. We have seen how unrelenting the Gua are becoming in their experiments in preparation for the take over of this planet but I am still determined as ever to stop the Invasion._


End file.
